


Lix and Loss

by LassieSandiego



Category: Final Fantasy V
Genre: Bartz/Faris if you squint, Canon Rewrite, Canonical Character Death, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-20 01:38:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19367554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LassieSandiego/pseuds/LassieSandiego
Summary: Faris gets out of bed to walk off a bad dream, only to find Bartz has done the same thing. All dialogue is taken directly from the cutscene in Lix.





	Lix and Loss

The others were still fast asleep when Faris woke in the middle of the night. What shelter was this again? She, the old man, her sister (which was still a lot to take in), and the man with the chocobo had been to so many different resting places in the past few weeks that it was hard to keep track. "Let's see," she murmured to herself under the quilted cover of a bed, before sighing. A bed was a good sign. They weren't camping. "First it was Tycoon... then the Crescent Island..." Her fingers came up to count off each place. "Then the man at Lix let us-- oh." Her face fell to realize that it was another hometown. 

As difficult as the castle had been for her, she could only imagine what this town was like for Bartz. He had a life here. A family, presumably. He never spoke much about matters of that nature. And after his chocobo had been found injured at the cove, Faris felt a knot form in her throat trying to console him about the only family he seemed to have left. It reminded her of Syldra. It wasn't the first time she had woken up thinking of her, actually. For the past few nights the sound of lapping waves had cursed the lavender haired pirate's ears even in sleep, forcing her awake before she had time to hear her monster companion's cries. It wouldn't be long, if tonight was like other nights, before it happened again. The tears, the muffling whimpers, her nightgown's arms covering with wet spots from scrubbing at defiant eyes... No. She had to be strong. Syldra would have wanted her to be. Maybe her father, too, and that's who they were here to find. Or at least they were on the way there.

While Faris forced herself to scan the room for anything to distract her-- why did the ocean still ring out so clearly if they were so far from the coast?-- she found herself focusing on Lenna first. The princess herself, her sister, was fast asleep and snoring quietly. "Guess she hadn't outgrown that old habit," she spoke again, her voice breaking. The bedding felt heavy on her all of a sudden. Too constricting. As quietly as she could she got out from under it and looked around some more. Galuf was comfortable in his own way, she supposed, though it couldn't be easy sleeping with half of one's body almost on the ground. But something was amiss.

Bartz must have gotten up at some point, because his cot was unoccupied. In a way, she expected it. If Faris's home was more easily navigated she would have been out wandering too. The castle had echoed with her bare footsteps when she'd worked up the courage. No doubt Lix held his. And as Lenna had comforted her, something drove her to do the same for him. Who knew? Maybe he would open up a bit, not be such a calculating thing, have some life to him instead of the silence she met everywhere save for battle... But now wasn't the time to think of that. It was time for action.

The woman didn't bother binding her breasts; it was too late at night to care about hiding her gender. Besides, she could trust him. And there was no one around who needed to care she wasn't a man. That was a good feeling for a change, being one's self instead of what was expected. Faris's nightgown off and breeches and tunic on in its place, she laced up her boots and struck the flint by the candle to light it.

Her steps were as soundless as a thief of the sea were supposed to be. Neither floorboard nor stair creaked under her limber body's weight on the way out the door. Moving the light around, she saw even the innkeeper was asleep. It was quite the nice favor of him to allow them a free night's stay, but she questioned the business practice. Locked in by mountains, this town surely didn't get much commerce-- and especially not for people needing an inn. But Faris shrugged it off to continue her mission.  


She hadn't seen much of it in the daylight to compare it to, but Lix was beautiful at night. Fireflies were darting past when she opened the door, and the clear air did miracles for the flower patches that seemed to be at the front of every building. Someone other than herself was awake too; she heard the unmistakable tone of a guitar in the distance, though its song was too far off to hear for what it was. It was more welcome to her ears than the waves fuzzily playing in her head. Than Syldra's dying gasps. Than the scratching of metal on stone to the west.

Wait.

Faris followed the sound with her spare hand on her knife. Her pirate sensibilities worked past the nightmare clawing at her brains, enough that she closed in on the kneeling figure with a defensive air. A curious one too, but more important was keeping herself alive. Underfoot a twig snapped and she cursed herself for allowing such a slipup. Whatever she was approaching turned its head her way.

"Oh, Faris..."

Her hand let go of the hilt when she registered the one speaking to be Bartz. Why in the world he was on the cold hard ground Faris had no idea, but she knew it had to be for good reason. The sandy haired man sat up a little more to gesture her over. She could barely see anything in the dimming light, however; her candle was starting to melt down. In fact, it was probably down to its last centimeter of wax.

She didn't say anything but knelt next to him and let the last light die on their quiet moment. In front of her companion was a rock with writing she couldn't make out. All she could see for what the stars and moon and occasional bug's rear end showed off were his teary eyes. Then three words made themselves clear. "Here Lies Stella," Faris mouthed. Before she had a chance to speak, Bartz did: "Meet my mom."

Faris's tongue started to tie itself into knots. Now she understood why he was here. How could he be sitting so calmly, she wondered. "Eh?" The sound came out without her meaning to, and again she chastized herself for making a mistake as silly as that.

"You know, I was born in this village." He blinked a couple of times and shook his head, then shifted his posture. One of his legs bent under the other while he gripped the heightened knee. "Mom passed on when I was still young. After that, I traveled with Dad for a long time. But three years ago, he got real sick..."

The stone was all he seemed to see for a while. Bartz was fixed on it, and Faris fixed on him. To hear him speaking like this was so strange. Until now, he had been the voice of reason, and rarely of emotion. Without a doubt he cared for the others, but didn't show it in words. Or, for that matter, gestures. Yet here he sat at the grave of his mother and told of his father. Syldra was the last thing on her mind now as she contemplated his movements-- the stone-metal scrape had started again, and it was definitely him the first time based on what he was doing.

They stayed there quietly while he kept up the carving, a crude job even for one in the dark. Eventually, more words came out from under his knife. Simple ones, powerful ones.

"...And Dorgann, Devoted Husband"

Bartz spoke again, barely keeping the tremolo of his voice in check. "He always wanted to be buried here with Mom. Dad was so strong..." Back to his knees, he sheathed his knife and folded his hands. Watching him carry this much reverence filled Faris's heart with a pain she felt every now and then, a deep one.

In her eyes, a man with a crown and a blurry face carried her to a wind drake she was too afraid to ride. Then, another who pulled her from a stormy sea. From that scene came that infernal sound again, though she refused to see what went with it. Not Syldra. Not again. Not more loss. She closed herself up in a ball to lessen the ache.

"A father, huh... wonder what that's like."

Faris felt the tears coming and scrubbed at her eyes. She hadn't gotten to know anyone that well, and here she was next to a man who mourned both parents in a way she never could. In dignity and peace. It drove anger into her gut along with the hurt, and it was even worse next to Bartz. Bowing her head into her lap she let a few drops of emotion trickle down, so he couldn't see her falling further apart...

After a time, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Faris jumped up to see Bartz crouching by her side, a shadow forming in the sunlight barely creeping up from the horizon. "Faris?" This time he was more in control, and that more than anything brought her back. The sound was gone. All she saw was what truly sat before her, not the spray of the water claiming her last best friend. It was well again.

The pirate uncurled and stretched her limbs to wake her body again. Not wanting to make more of a scene of herself, the next words came carefully. "Let's head back. Lenna'll worry if she wakes and finds us gone."

The only thing she saw of Bartz before walking back to the inn was his head nodding to her. Time to go forward.


End file.
